Marked in Flesh
Page 20
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“Joe?” Vlad said. “Does your incident have anything to do with dead bison?”
Joe growled. “Yes. A hundred bison were shot this morning.”
“What did they look like?”
Joe stared at the phone. “They looked dead. They dropped where they were killed.”
“So you wouldn’t describe them as a mound of bison?”
“Mound? Bison are big. You don’t drag them into a mound. Although full-grown bulls are big enough that you might think one was a mound.” Joe continued to stare at the phone. “You know something about our bison? How? I’m just calling now to tell Simon.”
“That’s why Jackson is on the phone. Hope drew a picture of dead bison, and something about the picture upset her so much, she cut herself. It’s the first time she’s made a cut since Jackson and Grace brought her to the Sweetwater settlement to live with the pack. They’re understandably upset, which is why they, and Hope, are on the phone with Simon and Meg.”
“The pup will be all right?”
“If Jackson doesn’t bite her out of frustration—a feeling Simon sympathizes with.”
“Meg and the exploding fluffballs won’t sympathize.”
Jesse blinked. What were exploding fluffballs? Rabbits that blew up when attacked? No, that was silly. They had to be connected with the blood prophets somehow.
Vlad chuckled. “Fortunately, our human female employees haven’t reported for work yet. At least, I haven’t seen any of them in the bookstore.” A pause. “Do you want Simon to call you back, or should I relay the message about the bison being killed?”
“A hundred bison is a lot of meat,” Joe replied. “I wondered if Simon and Henry would like some. It is not a meat you have in the Lakeside Courtyard.”
“I think they’d be pleased to have some. Do you have a way to ship it?”
“We can package up the meat and get it on the evening train,” Jesse said, inserting herself into the conversation. “Or on the first train tomorrow. There’s always one refrigerator car to transport foods that need to be kept cool.”
“No food coming to the terra indigene travels without an escort,” Vlad said.
“Someone will have to go to Lakeside?” Tobias sounded interested.
“You would need fur to travel in a cold car,” Joe said. “A Wolf, Bear, or Panther would need to travel with the meat.”
“The escort doesn’t have to travel the whole way with the packages,” Vlad said. “The terra indigene have set up a relay of guards from our various settlements so that no one has to travel that far from home right now, but the provisions are still guarded.”
Joe nodded. “We can make small packages of meat for the escorts, as thanks.”
“They would be happy with that. So what would you like in exchange for the meat you’re sending to Lakeside?”
“We don’t need . . .”
Jesse raised a hand. Joe frowned at her, making her feel as if she had misbehaved. But they couldn’t pass up this opportunity.
“You want something in exchange?” Joe asked her.
Jesse glanced at Shelley, who handed her the list. “Mostly, we would like connection, communication.”
“I don’t understand,” Vlad said after a moment.
“Bennett is the nearest human-controlled town. It’s our connection to other places because it has the train station, and the highway for the big trucks runs through there. We’re as self-sufficient as we can be here in Prairie Gold, but we’re dependent on the trains and trucks for the supplies that we can’t produce.” She waited. Apparently, Vlad was also waiting. “We have a library, and Shelley does her best to keep it running and bring in new books. And we have a small bookstore—well, I have a couple of shelves in my store where folks can buy new and used books. The point is, I used to be able to order a mixed box of books from publishers for my store, and Shelley was on e-mail lists that announced the new books that were available. Now we’re being shut out, dropped from the lists, told we have to buy quantities of each title that we can’t use. For the past couple of months, we’ve gone to the bookstore in Bennett and purchased books for the library, but last week, the bookstore was closed when we got to town. Funny thing for a business to be closed midmorning, but Shelley and I both had a feeling that the change in hours had something to do with the new decal displayed in a corner of the bookstore’s window.”
“HFL?”
Vladimir Sanguinati sounded friendly when he asked the question. Jesse hoped she was never around him in person when he was friendly in that way. Whatever he was, Vladimir was more of a predator than the Wolf standing on the other side of the counter.
“Yes,” she said. “Those were the letters.”
“So, the Humans First and Last movement has spread that far west.” A thoughtful silence. “They aren’t going to sell books to anyone from your town. Not for a while.”
“That’s just an example. I—well, all of us who have gone into Bennett in the past month—have the feeling that the town’s people are trying to squeeze us out.”
“You’re an Intuit,” Vlad said.
“Yes.” No point denying it, since she figured he knew it already. “And these girls, these prophets, that were in the news briefly. I would like to know more about them. Maybe we could help. I’m not sure how, but I have a feeling we can help.” She heard anger in her voice and tried to temper it. But she knew this was the moment that would make a difference.
Joe growled. “Yes. A hundred bison were shot this morning.”
“What did they look like?”
Joe stared at the phone. “They looked dead. They dropped where they were killed.”
“So you wouldn’t describe them as a mound of bison?”
“Mound? Bison are big. You don’t drag them into a mound. Although full-grown bulls are big enough that you might think one was a mound.” Joe continued to stare at the phone. “You know something about our bison? How? I’m just calling now to tell Simon.”
“That’s why Jackson is on the phone. Hope drew a picture of dead bison, and something about the picture upset her so much, she cut herself. It’s the first time she’s made a cut since Jackson and Grace brought her to the Sweetwater settlement to live with the pack. They’re understandably upset, which is why they, and Hope, are on the phone with Simon and Meg.”
“The pup will be all right?”
“If Jackson doesn’t bite her out of frustration—a feeling Simon sympathizes with.”
“Meg and the exploding fluffballs won’t sympathize.”
Jesse blinked. What were exploding fluffballs? Rabbits that blew up when attacked? No, that was silly. They had to be connected with the blood prophets somehow.
Vlad chuckled. “Fortunately, our human female employees haven’t reported for work yet. At least, I haven’t seen any of them in the bookstore.” A pause. “Do you want Simon to call you back, or should I relay the message about the bison being killed?”
“A hundred bison is a lot of meat,” Joe replied. “I wondered if Simon and Henry would like some. It is not a meat you have in the Lakeside Courtyard.”
“I think they’d be pleased to have some. Do you have a way to ship it?”
“We can package up the meat and get it on the evening train,” Jesse said, inserting herself into the conversation. “Or on the first train tomorrow. There’s always one refrigerator car to transport foods that need to be kept cool.”
“No food coming to the terra indigene travels without an escort,” Vlad said.
“Someone will have to go to Lakeside?” Tobias sounded interested.
“You would need fur to travel in a cold car,” Joe said. “A Wolf, Bear, or Panther would need to travel with the meat.”
“The escort doesn’t have to travel the whole way with the packages,” Vlad said. “The terra indigene have set up a relay of guards from our various settlements so that no one has to travel that far from home right now, but the provisions are still guarded.”
Joe nodded. “We can make small packages of meat for the escorts, as thanks.”
“They would be happy with that. So what would you like in exchange for the meat you’re sending to Lakeside?”
“We don’t need . . .”
Jesse raised a hand. Joe frowned at her, making her feel as if she had misbehaved. But they couldn’t pass up this opportunity.
“You want something in exchange?” Joe asked her.
Jesse glanced at Shelley, who handed her the list. “Mostly, we would like connection, communication.”
“I don’t understand,” Vlad said after a moment.
“Bennett is the nearest human-controlled town. It’s our connection to other places because it has the train station, and the highway for the big trucks runs through there. We’re as self-sufficient as we can be here in Prairie Gold, but we’re dependent on the trains and trucks for the supplies that we can’t produce.” She waited. Apparently, Vlad was also waiting. “We have a library, and Shelley does her best to keep it running and bring in new books. And we have a small bookstore—well, I have a couple of shelves in my store where folks can buy new and used books. The point is, I used to be able to order a mixed box of books from publishers for my store, and Shelley was on e-mail lists that announced the new books that were available. Now we’re being shut out, dropped from the lists, told we have to buy quantities of each title that we can’t use. For the past couple of months, we’ve gone to the bookstore in Bennett and purchased books for the library, but last week, the bookstore was closed when we got to town. Funny thing for a business to be closed midmorning, but Shelley and I both had a feeling that the change in hours had something to do with the new decal displayed in a corner of the bookstore’s window.”
“HFL?”
Vladimir Sanguinati sounded friendly when he asked the question. Jesse hoped she was never around him in person when he was friendly in that way. Whatever he was, Vladimir was more of a predator than the Wolf standing on the other side of the counter.
“Yes,” she said. “Those were the letters.”
“So, the Humans First and Last movement has spread that far west.” A thoughtful silence. “They aren’t going to sell books to anyone from your town. Not for a while.”
“That’s just an example. I—well, all of us who have gone into Bennett in the past month—have the feeling that the town’s people are trying to squeeze us out.”
“You’re an Intuit,” Vlad said.
“Yes.” No point denying it, since she figured he knew it already. “And these girls, these prophets, that were in the news briefly. I would like to know more about them. Maybe we could help. I’m not sure how, but I have a feeling we can help.” She heard anger in her voice and tried to temper it. But she knew this was the moment that would make a difference.
